Love Survives (Love's Suicide #2)(82)

“You’re being a baby. We were going to let my parents visit next week anyway. Stop acting like you don’t love me anymore because I know it’s not true.”

She was adamant about making me pay for not telling her where we were going at first. “I can’t believe you’re making me do this.”

When I couldn’t take it anymore I pulled the vehicle over and placed it in park. “Look at me.”

“No!” She stared out at an open field.

I ran my hand back up her thigh, taunting her. “Kat, look at me.”

The pissed look on her face was priceless. I wished I had my phone out to take a picture to make fun of it later. “What?”

“They miss you. Hell, they miss us. I left too, you know? This isn’t easy for me, but they deserve to know that little girl in the backseat. They weren’t in the dark about my feelings, Kat. They knew how I felt and they probably knew how you felt. We were kids, who wore our feelings on our sleeves. I’m betting they weren’t as surprised as you think that we ended up in bed, several times. After all, it is where you belonged anyway.”

She huffed and puffed, but finally gave in. “I’m still mad.”

I tapped her little nose. “No you’re not. You’re scared, but you’re not mad.”

“I don’t think I like that you know what I’m thinking. A girl’s got a right to some private thoughts.”

“Get used to it. It’s never going to change.”

Kat sighed, but finally seemed to calm down. A few minutes later she made a good suggestion. “I think we should stop for the night and drive the rest of the way in the morning. We didn’t sleep good last night, and could both use the rest before we see your parents.”

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea. I mean, when we go to hotels, you get pregnant. It’s scary.” I laughed at my own convoluted joke.

She smacked me hard on the leg. “I should have never said anything to you.”

“You know it’s funny.”

“What’s going to be funny is when I don’t get my period in two weeks. Then I’m going to watch you cry.”

I looked right at her, making sure she was paying close attention. “I won’t be crying out of fear, beautiful. They’ll be tears of joy for me. So, are we stopping at a hotel, or are you scared?”

She covered her face. I recognized that I was getting on her nerves. For one reason or another I found comfort in us being this way. It was the reason I fell in love with her so long ago.

“I’m not scared of you!”

“You should be. I’ll steal your heart and you’ll never get it back,” I promised.

“I gave it to you years ago, and I don’t want it back,” she replied.

I took her hand and held it against my lips. She couldn’t know how amazing this was for me. “No matter what happens when we get there tomorrow, we’re a team. If something bad is said, which I don’t see happening, we’ll leave together, as a family. I promise.”

“I just don’t want to see the look of disappointment on their faces. I’m already feeling that about myself. Being reminded of it only makes things worse.”

“I guarantee that when we walk in there, and they take a look at that princess in the back seat, everything will change. Look at how she’s affected me.”

In a few short days, I felt like everything in my life had changed. Kat couldn’t argue with the truth. She knew as well as I did that they were crazy if they didn’t love our daughter. “I hope you’re right.”

I walked across the lot to reserve a room for us while Kat went into the restaurant to change B. She said she was too soaked to wait. When we met again I had the key in my hand. “I got us a room. Since you’re scared of getting knocked up, I took a room with one twin bed. We can all share, right?”

She raised her brow, shaking her head the whole time. “You can sleep on the floor, I suppose.”

“I’m just playing. I got a honeymoon suite with a vibrating bed. Bug’s going to love it.”

She shook her head and kept looking at the menu while I played peek-a-boo with B.

After we grabbed a bite to eat, we headed over to the hotel. The first thing we did was got B situated with some of her toys. Her schedule was all messed up and Kat was freaking out over it. The more comfortable the child was the better she would sleep.

I took it upon myself to get a hot shower. It had been a long day, and I needed to wash as much if it away as I could. I didn’t see a problem with coming out of the bathroom in only a towel, but the look on Kat’s face made me rethink that decision. She may as well have been drooling. I watched her taking me in while smiling cheek to cheek. I knew what was on her mind, and it didn’t involve clothing.

I started to look for my boxers in my bag when my daughter walked over and looked at me curiously. I still had a towel on, but I could tell she was intrigued. “Hey, bug. What are you doing over here?”

“Pincess.” She handed me a little princess doll.

“Where’s her prince?”

She located the male prince and made them kiss. We all began to laugh at how she understood that gesture. “You may look like Daddy, but you act like Mama,” I said as I kissed her nose.

B jumped into my lap and touched my nose. “Nose.”